Hello guys! Here's another chapter :) Finally, Imladris! This one's a long one ;D


Chapter 4 - Of Injury and Healing

With no weapons and several small wounds, the elf was greatly outmatched this time. He ran after his little charge and they had almost reached the horse when the men caught up to them.

"GO!" the elf yelled, dodging blow after blow from two of the men. But again, the same problem arose -Estel couldn't get on the horse. And Bethron was getting nervous, treading from one hoof to the other, contemplating to run from the sharp blades pointed her way and arrows flying past. But she patiently waited for his master's orders.

"I-I cant…" Estel breathed, furiously pulling his wrist from one of the men, who had tried to grab him.

"Forget it!" the elf yelled at the men and Estel felt strong arms around him and just a second later, he was on the back of that horse and they were riding in the only direction the hunters had not yet blockaded. It all happened too fast for him to register and he would later wonder how it was done.

The elf had wrapped his arms around him tightly. Estel just heard his heavy breathing and when he tried to look back he saw the certainly angry hunters in the back, one of them seemed to have a glinting ivory knife in their shoulder. Maybe his mind had been too slow to keep up with what was happening but he certainly felt as if he was flying when he realized that they indeed did escape.

"How-" he wanted to know.

"I had to improvise a little. The important thing is that we made it." Came the voice of the elf from behind, for some reason he seemed to speak through his teeth as if biting them together tightly during the ride. Maybe he was still tense. Or his wrist wound hurt. Estel could see the blood seeping out when he looked down on the elf's grip, his knuckles were white from the strain.

Soon, when they were out of the denser forest and back on the path that Estel had somehow lost, the horse transitioned to a slower pace and it was much quieter around them. Estel felt the many questions he had collected in his head bubble up, now that the adrenalin inside him subsided a little.

"So, who are you? How did you know my name? Are you really from Greenwood? Did someone send you to get me?" the elf's grasp around him had loosened a little and he leaned back now, enabling Estel to turn around and look at his face. He seemed pale, but that didn't have to be unusual for him, his brothers were also a lot paler than most humans. There was a smile on his lips now though and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Nobody send me. The trees whispered of somebody in need so I altered my path to take a look. Then I heard you screaming in Sindarin. After that it was pretty clear to me who you had to be. Your brothers speak of you often." The trees, of course. So he was indeed a wood elf. Estel was more excited than he probably should be about this and already prepared more questions in his head. The elf lifted a blond eyebrow.

"How you ended up in the forest all by yourself however is a mystery to me. And why you came back without getting help first!" Suddenly, Estel had to look away. He felt his cheeks heating up. All of his goals from last night seemed so silly and far away now.

"I wanted to visit the blooming glades with the waterfall. It's the only good place to pick bluebells this time of year." He whispered and suddenly his companion was laughing merrily, the sound bouncing off the increasing stone walls around them like bell chimes.

"I see. Yes I remember the glades, they are indeed worth a visit." He did not chide him for sneaking out or how irresponsible it was to have done so. He just smiled and added. "But if you want to visit them we can do so together later, with your brothers also, if you want." It was just a suggestion, nothing more and Estel nodded eagerly.

"Yes, I'd love to!"

"Estel! Estel!?" a voice interrupted them. It sounded worried and he immediately recognized it as Elladan's. They were almost at Imladris' borders and Legolas put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly before spurring the horse to go on a little quicker.

It was almost daybreak now, the sun teasingly shooting its rays over the top of the mountains and the sky becoming more and more visible. So maybe his brothers had discovered his room empty in the morning and were now searching.

His conscience was running wild with guilt already.

They made it to the courtyard and the sound of hooves had apparently drawn several others closer to the open space. There was a group of elves Estel didn't know, dressed similar to his companion in all green and brown. All of them stood by horses while Elrond and Glorfindel were with them, obviously discussing something heatedly.

All of them turned when the two unlikely companions rode into view. At the same second, the twins rushed down the stairs, also seeing them approach and their faces lit up with joy and bewilderment at the same time.

"ESTEL!" they exclaimed and ran forward. "You found him! Where was he?" while his sons ran to the approaching horse, Elrond just stared, his gaze shifting between the two of them.

"Hir-nin!" "Legolas!" "Ernil-nin!" exclaimed several others, mainly the ones clad in green. Estel whirled around, pointedly ignoring his brother's chiding about where he had been and why he was just coming into Imladris instead of being in bed. He also waved their hands away who wanted to get him off the horse. Not yet, he had to wrap his head around this first.

"Legolas? You're Legolas?" he asked and Legolas grinned at him.

"I am, yes." He confessed and the twins rolled their eyes but also smiled. Inside, Estel wanted to hit his past self even more for thinking his new found ally was someone to hate because he was friends with his brothers.

"Where were you, Ernil-nin? We were concerned when we arrived without you being here. We thought you had only spurred on ahead to be the first." The front man asked. He seemed exasperated and had been discussing with Glorfindel, who seemed rather amused at the whole scene playing out in front of him.

"Wait, Prince? You're a prince?" Estel asked, even more shocked than before. When Legolas had told the humans he was a guard he had guessed that that was a lie, sure. But that he was the prince of all people, Thranduil's son, that had never been on his list of things to guess. No wonder he was lying. Those humans would have done far worse had they known how highly appraised their captive was. That had been the same for him, just that Estel had given them far too much information willingly in the naïve believe that they were just curious.

Still busy with his own dilemma, he didn't notice the conversation between his brothers and Legolas behind him.

"Come on get down from there, Estel needs to be looked at." And Elladan pulled on Legolas wrist mockingly, instilling first a laugh from the prince, then a sudden wince and the next second, when Elrohir had started to lift Estel by the hips to get off the horse, Legolas was going limp, eyes rolling back into his head.

And slipping right off the horse.

"Legolas!" the twins gasped, making the other adults turn to them in time to see what happened. Several of them gasped in shock, some sprinted in their direction already but would have been too late. Just out of sheer luck and thanks to his ability to react quickly, Elladan was able to catch Legolas from falling to the floor painfully. He kneeled on the courtyard floor with his hands and eyes hovering, trying to find the source of his friend collapsing to suddenly..

"Ada!" he cried out, almost choking, his hand feeling and then seeing something that shouldn't be there. "He's bleeding!" the red liquid on his robe and hand made the twin's breathing accelerate. No no no…not again, not on this cursed day…

"What?" Estel cried out.

"Get Estel out of here!" Elrond's voice interrupted all the yelling that occurred from the worried and outraged wood elves after this statement. But no, no! He wanted to know what was going on! Why was Legolas bleeding?

"No! He's my friend, I want to stay with him! He saved me!"

Elrond had kneeled beside Legolas, now looking up at those curious words. He still had no idea why his foster son had been out of Imladris and what happened this night at all. Estel seemed to have burn marks on his wrists and several small wounds too… Friend he called him…he had to wonder what the prince did again to gain another's affection so quickly. And especially what Estel did to gain Legolas' trust as well, judging by the way they had arrived.

His healer side took over while the twins had already tried to find the bleeding and press parts of their robes to it to stop it.

"Alright, you can come. But stay back and let me and your brothers work, understood?"

Estel nodded, eager to not be carried away like a little child who should be shielded. Elrond nodded and got back to business immediately.

"Glorfindel, get our guests to their quarters and then come to the healing hall to help. Elladan, you carry Legolas and Elrohir, you hurry and prepare a bed" All addressed elves nodded and sprung to action, Elrohir hurrying off and Glorfindel turning to the other wood elves, who seemed short before sprinting to their prince's side as well.

"Excuse me, but I'm not leaving the prince's side. I demand to know what happened!" one of them said and Glorfindel sighed.

"I know, I understand, but it's important that you let Lord Elrond work first, so he can be healed before we start this discussion. You will be shown to your rooms and can refresh before you come to the healing halls, alright?"

But Estel barely heard the rest of the argument, because Elladan had lifted up Legolas now, his robe was soaked with blood where Legolas' back was, as was the courtyard, and he hurried down the corridor with Elrond opening doors and feeling the prince's pulse along the way.

When was he injured? Why did he not ask for them to stop and tend to this wound? Estel's thoughts were running wild and he wondered if this was the 'improvising' he had briefly talked about before Estel had bombarded him with questions.

They reached the healing halls and a bed was ready, prepared by Elrohir, who was nervously flying around the room to prepare for the cleaning of the wounds and the sanitation of the bandages.

"Estel, help me clean these bandages, will you?" he asked while Lord Elrond and Elladan were by the bed. It was clear to Estel that his brother was trying to prevent him from seeing the actual -probably gruesome- wound, but he wanted to help, so he complied with the request, dragging the bandages through the boiling water and laying them on a clean tablet to be carried over to the bed.

At one point he stopped for a second, seeing how his brother was shaking miserably before grabbing the counter and breathing deeply. Concerned and confused he searched for Elrohir's gaze but the elder carefully avoided it and just continued his work.

When the first batch was done, he was able to get a glance of what was happening on the bed.

Legolas was on his stomach, his back exposed with the tunic cut away for better access. Apparently, the swing of a sword had hit his back almost diagonally, leaving a rather deep gash.

"Was his spine hit?" he heard Elrohir whisper with deep worry in his tone.

"I don't think so. It would explain the fainting… But we won't be certain until he wakes. Help me wrap this for now, it has finally stopped bleeding.", Elrond answered and carefully took the bandages his sons were handing to him.

Estel slowly stepped closer, the quiet situation finally letting sink in what happened this day. He felt how his eyes prick and before he even knew it, Elrohir was by his side, wrapping his arms around him for comfort. Elladan glanced over sympathetically but his hands were still covered in Legolas' blood and he would finish this first before touching his baby brother.

"Hey, hey! He's going to be fine." Elrohir whispered, maybe not just to ensure his little brother, but also himself. Estel knew the twins were close friends with Legolas for a long, long time. Incomprehensibly long for humans, probably. And now he was the cause for their friend to be injured this badly? For Eru's sake he was tortured and held captive because of him!

"This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, Ro!" he wailed, the sobs wracking his small body while his brother held him, still not knowing what had even happened.

"No, it is not! Whatever happened is surely not to blame on you." He paused, looking if the other two in the room were able to pay attention. "So, what did happen?"

They were interrupted, when Glorfindel entered the healing halls, together with a male and a female elf from Greenwood, who had changed their clothing to more formal attire. The woman held a bundle of cloth in her hand, carefully positioning it next to her prince's bed on a nightstand.

"A change of clothing for him." She explained and glanced over their workings worriedly.

"Will he recover?" she asked.

"In time we will see what damage will last.", Elrond just answered ominously, probably to soften a blow that may follow later, as Estel now knew.

The two woodland warriors closed their eyes for a second and the woman took a shaky breath.

"The king is going to kill us." She confessed, drawing her fingers through her own hair nervously.

"We know he likes to wander off by himself sometimes but usually he's just picking flowers or talking to the trees…" Her companion added for her. She nodded in agreement and since Elrond was still wrapping and cleaning, she looked to the human boy. There was no contempt in her gaze, just curiosity and concern.

"Tell me please, human child, what has happened?" she implored. Estel couldn't even bring himself to correct her on his name so he just nodded. He was going to say this at some point anyway, he might as well do it now. He just wished he didn't have red eyes from crying just a few seconds ago. Or this pressure in his throat or the tiredness entering his bones.

"So, last night before bed…." And he told them all what had transpired, about his escape (his brothers and father were not pleased) his capture, Legolas rescue and his return to the glade right after.

"Why did you not come for Imladris first, we could have easily freed him! I bet that was Legolas' plan all along. He knew he had men in the area and that we were waiting for him!" Elrohir exclaimed, one hand on his little brother's shoulder. Honestly, in hindsight, Estel's plan did seem stupid, but in the moment…

"I didn't want him to suffer because of me." He confessed. His guilty glance to Legolas in that bed however made him wipe at his tears again. "Looks like I failed at that as well."

"So what happened when you went back? What had transpired?", asked the female Greenwood warrior. He later learned her name was Alaf.

"They um…wanted information from him. I watched from the bushes." He dropped his gaze, not knowing if he should tell them this or if he was even able to recollect it verbally. There was a heavy silence in the room and he sniffed, trying not to let further tears escape.

"He told them what they wanted to know for the ransom letter, lied about who he was though. He said he was a guard and his name was 'Tithen-Las'?" he looked around the room with a questioning gaze.

All elves present suddenly turned even paler than they had been before. He saw Glorfindel ball his fists while the twins clenched their jaws. The Greenwood Woman closed her eyes for a few seconds as if to collect herself while her partner looked ready for murder.

"That is his father's nickname for him. Was that letter sent?" the elleth asked, obviously trying to keep calm. Estel took that in for a moment. Of course, that made more sense, name wise then. But he shook his head slowly in response.

"I don't think so…we escaped before they could. They said to first get rest before sending it in the morning. So I had to do something, they said they would move camp in the morning, too so we would have lost them!" he justified his actions and his brothers exchanged glances. They would have been able to catch up to the humans regardless of where they went, but Estel had not yet been taught the art of tracking that well, so they just nodded for him to continue. He did, until he finally arrived at the point where they were fleeing on the horse. He even told them how he had no idea where Legolas was hurt and that he suspected it was in the second he got them both onto the horse.

"I don't know why he didn't say anything!" he whined finally and there was a chuckle from Elrond by the bed.

"That would be typical. The Princeling has the strange habit of not telling of his injuries until he faints or someone else discovers them, so this is not the first time he has arrived here injured." He checked the bandages for a final time and then turned to Estel. As he sat on the edge of the bed, he was roughly on Estel's eyelevel and ushered the child towards him. Estel hesitated but finally went. He didn't know if he feared a punishment, but his foster father's eyes showed nothing but warmth and kindness.

"I am so sorry that you had to go through that, my child.", he whispered and drew him into a hug, which he gladly accepted. Being buried in his father's arms like this, he did not see the rage in the eyes of the Greenwood warriors, or the anger flickering over his brother's faces. Elrond shielded him from this as well, as he himself was just as mad.

How dare these men. How dare they hold Estel captive, and then Legolas as well. How dare they torture the prince for information, or harm him at all, same for Estel.

"Those bastards will pay." Alaf whispered angrily in Silvan, so fast that Estel did not hear her well. He had already turned to walk out when the other warrior stopped him.

"Calm yourself. When the captain wakes we need to be present. I know you want to go after them but we will do it in due time.", his companion assured him. Elrohir stood from the other side of the bed, his fists clenched too and he nodded at the Greenwood warriors.

"We will come with you when that time comes. They will not be able to escape."

"It Is nice to know you already plan my own revenge", a voice from the bed interrupted them. They all whirled around in the direction. Legolas' blue eyes were open and he smiled at them, though it did seem painful as his grimace indicated.

"My prince!" "Legolas!" it rang around the room and a great tension seemed to be lifted from the air.

Elrond just watched the scene with a somber expression, not satisfied until he knew everything but also not wanting to interrupt the scene just yet.

"Hello to you all. This is indeed a full room for a simple injury." Legolas greeted. Then he drew in his arms and started to lift himself up. Just a second later, Elladan was there, pressing him down gently, though no real force was needed.

"Oh no, you don't. Do you know how much blood you have lost?" he chided. Legolas winced, then he chuckled. Already so cheerful again even in this situation, even if it sounded sarcastic.

"If I look at you I can judge that pretty well." The prince quipped and his gaze up and down Elladan's robes to his hands. The twin looked down himself and froze, staring, all amusement leaving at the sight of Legolas' blood on himself. Then his knees promptly gave in and it was good that his twin was there, having sprinted up from Estel's side, and put a chair right where Elladan dropped. Not reacting to the wondrous appearance of a chair at all (like always spookily in tune with his twin), Elladan sank into himself and Estel felt his previous worry for his brothers spike. What was up with them? He had never seen either like this at all and it scared him. Elrohir was grabbing the back of the chair like his own life depended on its presence.

Legolas expression had sobered and he obediently sank down onto the bed again, scrunching himself into the pillow. His blond hair, previously also caked with blood but now cleaned and still slightly wet, hid his expression for a few seconds. It was as if in these moments they were raw, exposed even, a deep sadness shining through that was normally carefully buried inside. Elrond and Glorfindel exchanged knowing glances, the Lord soon closing his lids and trying to shield his own expression.

"I am sorry, gwador-nin. I did not mean to put another mark on this day." Legolas whispered, almost too quiet for them all to hear. But Elladan still absently stared at his bloody hands until Glorfindel moved and kneeled before him, his own pale hands over his, covering the sight. He broke the spell and drew Elladan's as well as Elrohir's gaze towards him. They looked at each other for a moment and then Glorfindel smiled, warm and sad at the same time.

"Come on, you two. Let's get you changed and to your rooms for now." He said quietly. The twins hesitated.

"We don't want to be alone." Elrohir finally whispered, Elladan closed his eyes and nodded in agreement.

"I will stay." Glorfindel promised, taking Elladan's hand again and guiding them outside.

The door closed behind them heavily and Estel glanced around to the other faces still present, waiting for an explanation.

"What's wrong with them?" he finally asked, almost whispering because he sensed the tense atmosphere of the room. Nobody made eye contact. Estel's thoughts were racing with worry for his brothers, and he stepped closer to Elrond. But the Lord seemed just as raw, staring into space until he pulled himself together again, returning his foster son's gaze as if just remembering he was there at all.

"Estel. I apologize but today is a difficult day for all of us. I will explain it to you some day, when the pain is not as poignant." He said, not really explaining at all, and Estel felt like he was about to burst. He just went through all of this…to be treated like a child yet again! But he was distracted when Elrond turned to the prince on the bed, expression still grave.

"Now you know I have to ask you this, Legolas, can you move and feel your toes?" he asked. Legolas closed his eyes for a second, apparently still bracing himself from the scene that had just went down. But after that short pause, he released them all from their tension and nodded.

"Yes, I can. Look at my majestic wiggling." And he did indeed wiggle his toes that were slightly poking out from under the bedsheet covering his legs. The cut on his cheek and wound on his wrist were still there, not yet bound, and Estel watched Elrond do just that, with a much more relieved expression on his face. The greenwood warriors excused themselves after Legolas exchanged a few words In Silvan with them.

Estel was alone in the wide healing hall now, with Legolas and his father. Warm morning light filtered through the windows, making the blood and fright from the previous night seem like a distant nightmare. After he was bandaged all over, Legolas finally looked at Estel again, his gaze warm.

"How are you faring?" he asked.

At this, Estel was stumped. First, this elf freed him, sacrificed himself for him and after he was dumb enough to come back, helped him escape again, after spilling his own blood all over Elrond's courtyard.

And he asked him how he was faring?

He opened and closed his mouth, took the time to think about what to say. Luckily, elves were good listeners. They had patience to spare in amounts no man ever had.

"I...think I'm alright. Considering." He finally decided and Legolas smiled.

"I am glad. Still, I regret that you had to endure yesterday's events." He said and Estel could only nod. He still had a lot of questions, having them only double with how his brothers behaved just now. He looked up at his father and Elrond read his expression, turning to Legolas. A hand brushed over the top of his blond head with gentle movements.

"Sleep now, Legolas. I have already given you a calming tea mixture."

"I can taste it, thanks." Legolas said, responding to the gesture first with a smile, then with a face that almost resembled Estel himself when he sulked. Elrond had a short laugh, clearly amused even though the sadness still lingered.

"It may not be the time of day, but I think Estel might be exhausted too, mh?" he turned to his son.

As if on cue, Estel felt his own exhaustion catch up to him. He yawned, nodded, and soon he was escorted outside and to his room to rest.

"Will you stay?" he asked, maybe a little ashamed to have to do so. He was already eight, he shouldn't have to ask his father to stay with him while he slept. But Elrond didn't even hesitate to answer.

"Of course." And he sat in a chair by his bedside, smiling fondly while his foster son drifted into dream land.


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